Eric Dane still has some posthumous performances to be released, but the role he took on in his final year will be remembered as the most impactful.
After the Grey’s Anatomy and Euphoria actor publicly announced his diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in April 2025, he didn’t retreat from the public eye as he battled the devastating disease. Instead, he used the platform he built thanks to his career in Hollywood to boost visibility for ALS.
Dane didn’t hesitate to take on an advocacy role, partnering with organizations like Target ALS and I AM ALS to bring more awareness and research surrounding the rare degenerative disease.
For the former nonprofit, he joined its Board of Directors and became the face of Target ALS’s “Ending ALS Starts with You” campaign, helping raise more than $500,000 in 2025 to accelerate research for treatments. As for I AM ALS, he served as an ambassador for the nonprofit and helped launch its “Push for Progress” campaign in September, which aims to secure $1 billion in federal funding for ALS over the next three years.
Dane was recognized as Advocate of the Year at the ALS Network’s Champions for Cures and Care Gala last month.
In October 2025, Dane also traveled to Washington, D.C., with the I AM ALS leadership to lobby Congress to increase federal funding for ALS research and push for the reauthorization of the Accelerating Access to Critical Therapies for ALS Act, which expires in 2026. He met with lawmakers, including U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, to discuss the urgency of funding.
In addition to his work with nonprofits, Dane combined his advocacy with his acting talents, appearing in a season two episode of the NBC medical drama, Brilliant Minds. In the episode, which aired in November, he played Matthew, a firefighter who struggles to tell his family about his ALS diagnosis and later grapples to accept help from them as the prognosis progresses.
“We really wanted to honor him and his experience and be really truthful about it. [We] didn’t want to sensationalize in any way,” Brilliant Minds creator Michael Grassi previously told The Hollywood Reporter of the importance of the episode.
Grassi also co-wrote the episode with Daniela Lamas, a doctor, and also leaned on two ALS doctors and two members of the writing staff who had family members living with ALS when developing the storyline. “We really wanted to get all the language right, especially when talking about something like ALS, where yes, there is currently no cure, but people are currently working very hard to find a cure,” the showrunner added.
Dane died on Feb. 19, following a years-long battle with the rare degenerative disease. The actor had shared that he first experienced symptoms a year and a half before publicly revealing his diagnosis.
Following his death, I AM ALS shared in a statement, “Eric used his platform not for attention, but for action. From the moment he joined I AM ALS, he showed up with courage and conviction, asking how he could use his superpowers to help the movement grow. It was an honor to brainstorm with him, to walk alongside him in the halls of Congress on behalf of our community, amplify the urgent need for ACT for ALS and research funding, and drive toward treatments and, ultimately, a cure. He understood that ALS is not just a diagnosis; it is a call to action for families, for answers, and for change.”
“Eric brought humility, humor, and visibility to ALS and reminded the world that progress is possible when we refuse to remain silent. Eric was more than a supporter of our mission—he was part of our family. His impact will live on in the research being funded, the policies being advanced, and the community he helped grow by his honesty, his bravery, and his belief in a better future for anyone struggling with this diagnosis,” the organization continued. “We honor Eric by continuing the work he believed in so deeply: mobilizing communities, driving critical research, securing essential funding, and fighting relentlessly for real solutions. Our thoughts are with his loved ones and our entire community. I AM ALS will carry his legacy forward — until ALS is no more.”
Target ALS also wrote in a statement, “Though we had only known Eric, or ‘E,’ as so many called him, for the past year, his impact on our community was immediate and profound. From the moment we met him, we experienced his generosity of heart. He didn’t hesitate to ask how he could help, how he could fight, and how he could be part of the solution. Whenever we asked for his support, his response was always the same: ‘I’ll do whatever I can to help.’”
“We also recognize that families across the globe experience this heartbreak every day. To lose someone to ALS is devastating and unacceptable,” the org added. “Partnering with Eric was a way to fight back, to accelerate research and advance effective treatments for this disease. At Target ALS, we will carry this work forward in Eric’s honor, and in honor of the many who came before him. We remain steadfast in our mission so that no family has to endure this loss in the future.”
Dane’s final onscreen performances will be in Euphoria season three and Family Secrets.
